OT: Leafs/NHL Thread

[Dr Positivity]

Bottom line is Matthews and Marner have combined for less game 7 goals for the Leafs than either Kessel or Kadri. As in they played in one game 7 and scored, and M&M have played in 6 and have not scored. How Matthews scores goals like Ovie in the regular season is beyond me. They play defense more than McDrai which may one day win them a title but they are overrated on offense.

The current version of the Leafs have been trying and failing so long that Tavares is now an expiring contract.

[GQStylin]

The "vet leadership" thing is fine, but I'm not sure an 11mil cap hit for a guy that won a single playoff series in 9 years is a good resume for such a role. So I will still never understand it! Good player, but......

I'm sure when we signed Tavares we were all expecting better results and even though he's not a 11 million dollar player he still played pretty well during his time here and less so in the playoffs. Sometimes you roll the dice and you hit and other times you roll and you miss. Tavares is kinda in the middle. Good player with good point production, but not the difference maker in the playoffs that we all hoped for outside of a few games where he came up big.

Reilly isn't NTC'd... so here's hoping!

Riding out another year of Marner and Tavares could be annoying.

I did eat some tasty crow over Nylander over the last year..... so what the heck do I know?

Rielly has a No Movement Clause which is worse because you can't trade or waive him and put him down in the minors without his consent. So he stays with the Leafs no matter what unless he consents to a move. With Marner I would try and see if he'd want to get traded or maybe push him to do so. Great player but he hasn't brought it enough in the playoffs and with him needing a new contract I don't want the Leafs giving him that new contract. With Tavares I doubt he'll want to be moved and I'm fine with keeping him for one more season and letting his contract run out.

[6ixpessant]

The "vet leadership" thing is fine, but I'm not sure an 11mil cap hit for a guy that won a single playoff series in 9 years is a good resume for such a role. So I will still never understand it! Good player, but......

I'm sure when we signed Tavares we were all expecting better results and even though he's not a 11 million dollar player he still played pretty well during his time here and less so in the playoffs. Sometimes you roll the dice and you hit and other times you roll and you miss. Tavares is kinda in the middle. Good player with good point production, but not the difference maker in the playoffs that we all hoped for outside of a few games where he came up big.

Reilly isn't NTC'd... so here's hoping!

Riding out another year of Marner and Tavares could be annoying.

I did eat some tasty crow over Nylander over the last year..... so what the heck do I know?

Rielly has a No Movement Clause which is worse because you can't trade or waive him and put him down in the minors without his consent. So he stays with the Leafs no matter what unless he consents to a move. With Marner I would try and see if he'd want to get traded or maybe push him to do so. Great player but he hasn't brought it enough in the playoffs and with him needing a new contract I don't want the Leafs giving him that new contract. With Tavares I doubt he'll want to be moved and I'm fine with keeping him for one more season and letting his contract run out.

According to Spotrac, Rielly doesn't have an NTC. Not sure if they make mistakes sometimes.

[GQStylin]

I never liked paying 4 guys half the cap. Its a hard cap. Too hard to make work. Plus they get shut down in playoffs they arent colorado its a total waste. Cant win without goalie and defense. They neglected for years

If the guys you're paying the most money to show up and perform then its not a huge problem. Sure it would be nice to get these guys at a lower price, but I guess that's the price you have to pay to get players to stay and play in Canada which to many players is not their number one spot to be playing in.

Also at least against the Bruins this series it wasn't their defense that let them down and their goaltending while it wasn't perfect it was more than good enough to win this series if their offense could score even remotely close to how they were scoring in the regular season. This is probably the first playoffs in years where the toughness of this team wasn't an issue and our defensemen were big bruisers that were punishing the Bruins forwards for a change. Our stars not being super tough well it is what it is, but they aren't paid to lay big hits they're paid to score goals and they failed miserably in doing that outside of a few exceptions.

[Raptors Realtor]

I never liked paying 4 guys half the cap. Its a hard cap. Too hard to make work. Plus they get shut down in playoffs they arent colorado its a total waste. Cant win without goalie and defense. They neglected for years

If the guys you're paying the most money to show up and perform then its not a huge problem. Sure it would be nice to get these guys at a lower price, but I guess that's the price you have to pay to get players to stay and play in Canada which to many players is not their number one spot to be playing in.

Also at least against the Bruins this series it wasn't their defense that let them down and their goaltending while it wasn't perfect it was more than good enough to win this series if their offense could score even remotely close to how they were scoring in the regular season. This is probably the first playoffs in years where the toughness of this team wasn't an issue and our defensemen were big bruisers that were punishing the Bruins forwards for a change. Our stars not being super tough well it is what it is, but they aren't paid to lay big hits they're paid to score goals and they failed miserably in doing that outside of a few exceptions.

Not sure about that, Canada is the most represented country in the NHL, with 42% of players being Canadian, followed by the US at 29%, so signing/keeping players in Canada shouldn't be an issue... Not to mention, most Europeans prefer Canada to the US.

[GQStylin]

Meh, he still ended up being a +1 on the series as a guy who takes primary shifts killing penalties. People are mad at his scoring output being way off his regular season level. Big picture is guys like Marner don't grow on trees and he did appear to be playing hurt.

Meanwhile our 11 million dollar captain scored 2 points all series 100% healthy. There's one clear target for salary bloat.

There's no questioning that Marner's talented, but he hasn't been much of a force in most playoff games that I've seen him in outside of a few here and there. He seems to avoid almost all contact and can't battle in the corners much which is what you need to do to in the playoffs. Nylander also doesn't battle much either, but as we saw in game 6 he's got speed and the skill to be a gamebreaking player. Marner doesn't have that ability and considering he's nearing the end of his contract, unless you're committed to riding this core to the bitter end then he's the one that's most suitable to move on from if the team is actually going in a different direction.

As for Matthews he deserves criticism as well for his playoff performances, but the thing is he's your franchise centre and also he's big and doesn't shy away from physical play and can battle so he's the least likely to get traded anytime soon unless he's asking to be traded.

[GQStylin]

According to Spotrac, Rielly doesn't have an NTC. Not sure if they make mistakes sometimes.

Capfriendly is your place to go for anything NHL related. Best resource on the entire net if you need to find info on NHL player contracts, the draft, trades, minor league prospects, free agents etc. So much info that's so well organized.

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/mapleleafs

Also recently they started one up for the NBA as well:

https://www.salaryswish.com/teams/raptors

[6ixpessant]

According to Spotrac, Rielly doesn't have an NTC. Not sure if they make mistakes sometimes.

Capfriendly is your place to go for anything NHL related. Best resource on the entire net if you need to find info on NHL player contracts, the draft, trades, minor league prospects, free agents etc. So much info that's so well organized.

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/mapleleafs

Also recently they started one up for the NBA as well:

https://www.salaryswish.com/teams/raptors

Thank you friend for breaking my heart and taking away a small glimmer of hope!

I hate NTC/NMCs in the cap era... I have always wondered why owners haven't fought against them. There should be a way out... some buyout penalty for the player if they want one., max salary penalty.. max length of a contract allowed... I dunno.. something.

[refshateRaps]

The Toronto media: Matthews needs to go for 70 instead of resting for the playoffs

The line is always so thin in the playoffs and we have clowns creating the dumbest narrative for fans. Two thing our media loves to push is stats, numbers and also to protect management by creating narratives. All counter productive to winning.

Nice to see the Oilers rested McDavid last couple weeks.

[TheGeneral99]

The Toronto media: Matthews needs to go for 70 instead of resting for the playoffs

The line is always so thin in the playoffs and we have clowns creating the dumbest narrative for fans. Two thing our media loves to push is stats, numbers and also to protect management by creating narratives. All counter productive to winning.

Nice to see the Oilers rested McDavid last couple weeks.

Not sure what effect that has...Matthews didn't miss games due to an injury, it was due to an illness (likely the flu, fever of COVID).

[MiamiSPX]

Shanny has one year left. He shoulda been out on his ass long ago. If Myrtle leak is true that board wants massive changes if they lose in 1st round, he should be the first one fired. But lets see. He's made them money.

Keefe was a dead man walking. He's a goner without a doubt.

Marner/Tavares gotta go , they got NMC but u gotta ask and re-shape this team and allocated money. What a misfire by Shanny/Dubas with these guys.

Not sure what more we need to see. We have 8 years of evidence that this isn't working. How many more years we going to sit here and hope these guys will figure it out come playoff time? Tavares and Marner said today they want to sign extensions and stay in Toronto lol. Way to read the room guys.

Another early start to the golf season. Oh well, "we'll get 'em next year" right guys?

[Brinbe]

It's pretty funny that for all the outsized talk about this team and current core over the past eight years, they've managed a high of five wins in the playoffs over that span out of sixteen lol. So for me, it will be interesting to see what actually happens this summer and what/if any changes are actually made.

Do we get a new coach? What do they do with Marner if he doesn't waive his NMC and they don't want to engage on an extension? Do they bring one or both of Bert/Domi back? Do they pursue a new goaltender partner for Woll and how/who do you target to improve the backline? And they gotta figure out the special teams after years of revamp and new coaches bring brought in every year.

Even despite all the disappointment, the stands are still packed, the jerseys get sold and the viewership is as high as ever. We'll see if this ownership is truly content with just that.

[Ado05]

Marner has to go. Would also try to get rid of Rielly and Tavares.

[D.Brasco]

Glad the Raptors never had an expectation like that placed on them, they'd have still been ringless.

[refshateRaps]

The Toronto media: Matthews needs to go for 70 instead of resting for the playoffs

The line is always so thin in the playoffs and we have clowns creating the dumbest narrative for fans. Two thing our media loves to push is stats, numbers and also to protect management by creating narratives. All counter productive to winning.

Nice to see the Oilers rested McDavid last couple weeks.

Not sure what effect that has...Matthews didn't miss games due to an injury, it was due to an illness (likely the flu, fever of COVID).

Flu and injury.

Never the less he could have been rested and fresh. It's a huge advantage to when the opportunity arises.

[kalel123]

Wish the best for the Leafs but listening to radio today, it sounded like they dug themselves a deep hole. No player worth a damn they could trade without the player's consent, meaning they have no leverage. Guess NTC is to the leafs what player options are to the Raptors, only way worse due to hard cap.

[bballsparkin]

Samsonov gave you what you can ask for. The team didn't score. Still some positive take aways frorm a casual outside observer. Woll looks like a keeper. Hopefully he stays healthy. Knies is fun. I'd love to have him on the Canucks.

My thinking: Tavares stays. He's the Captain. Let him expire. He scored 29 goals and played 80 games. Mathews you obviously keep. 69 goals. 368 goals in 562 games and signed. He's not going anyway. Nylander,...keep. Marner is the odd man out imho.

I told my buddy trade him to the Seattle Kraken for their #2 pick and cap space when that was a possibility. He thought I was nuts. That 2nd pick looks like a future USA men's team Captain from the little I've seen of him. I don't see how Seattle could say no. Marner would be a great face for a new team. And it's a nice city despite the druggies hehe. Maybe they wouldn't for Benier though.

Look to move Rielly too. Hard cap. Somethings go to give.

Replace the coach and perhaps Shanny. With the right decisions this is a good team for years to come.

[GQStylin]

I hate NTC/NMCs in the cap era... I have always wondered why owners haven't fought against them. There should be a way out... some buyout penalty for the player if they want one., max salary penalty.. max length of a contract allowed... I dunno.. something.

The NHLPA did give up a fair bit in their last deal with the owners, but part of what they got back was guaranteed contracts and the ability to have no trade and no movement clauses. Teams can buyout players already if they want to and at least a few teams do that every year for a player or two. Also the max length on contracts is 8 years so you can't sign a player for a ridiculous number of years like you use to be able to.

[GQStylin]

Wish the best for the Leafs but listening to radio today, it sounded like they dug themselves a deep hole. No player worth a damn they could trade without the player's consent, meaning they have no leverage. Guess NTC is to the leafs what player options are to the Raptors, only way worse due to hard cap.

To be fair every team in the league gives NTC/NMC to many players they sign. Almost every star player and even OK players get NTC or NMC added to their contracts because players like being in control to some degree as to where they play. It sucks but its apart of doing business if you want to sign a player and it probably sucks more for Canadian teams because it seems like a fair amount of players often don't want to get traded to a Canadian team so they use their NTC/NMC to prevent a trade to a Canadian club.

[C_Money]

Wish the best for the Leafs but listening to radio today, it sounded like they dug themselves a deep hole. No player worth a damn they could trade without the player's consent, meaning they have no leverage. Guess NTC is to the leafs what player options are to the Raptors, only way worse due to hard cap.

To be fair every team in the league gives NTC/NMC to many players they sign. Almost every star player and even OK players get NTC or NMC added to their contracts because players like being in control to some degree as to where they play. It sucks but its apart of doing business if you want to sign a player and it probably sucks more for Canadian teams because it seems like a fair amount of players often don't want to get traded to a Canadian team so they use their NTC/NMC to prevent a trade to a Canadian club.

I don’t understand how this is an issue in a league that’s full of Canadian players.